Creeping through a bamboo forest in the Qin Ling Mountains of China's Shaanxi province, Peking University zoologist Pan Wenshi and his assistant Lu Zhi are about to witness a sight rarely seen in the wild: a giant panda mother and her newborn cub.

Although much has since been said and written about the need for China to reverse its environmental decline, recent years have abounded with news reports telling of the nation’s earth lurching from bad to terrible.

Like all scientific theories, Darwinism has been questioned and tested wherever possible. Among scientists, it has held up well, becoming a pillar of modern science. But this has not prevented attacks, chiefly from outside the scientific community.

This past summer, a team of biologists scoured Siberian tundra in search of nests and eggs of one of the world’s most threatened species, spoon-billed sandpiper. Aim was for captive breeding; yet this is far from ideal way of saving species.